Sound Devices Astral ARX32 firmware v8.20.02

NOTE: If updating an Astral ARX32 from v1.00, any attached Astral Opto needs to be physically unlinked and removed during the update. Versions v1.01 of Astral ARX32 and above do not require this step. After updating to v8.20, you must re-pair Astral Outposts.

Changes

Dante Controller > ‘Enable Sync To External’ is no longer automatically checked when ARX32 is Leader.

Fixes

ARX receivers no longer cause transmitters to split internal recordings into multiple files or stop recording completely.

'Network Disconnected' message now auto-clears when network connection is reestablished.

ARX receivers now correctly update Astral-HH control ring button and switch settings upon NexLink connection.

Firmware Update Guide (HTML) Firmware Update Guide (PDF)

Astral ARX32 v8.20 Firmware Released: October 02, 2025

NOTE: If updating an Astral ARX32 from v1.00, any attached Astral Opto needs to be physically unlinked and removed during the update. Versions v1.01 of Astral ARX32 and above do not require this step. After updating to v8.20, you must re-pair Astral Outposts.

New

Added support for simultaneous NexLink communication via multiple Astral Outposts.

Added support for distributing timecode to transmitters via NexLink from Astral Outposts.

New firmware update menu includes the ability to wirelessly update Astral transmitter firmware.

Ability to abort wireless pairing and exit the TX List’s wireless pairing screen.

Added Frequency Exclusion Regions – the ability to exclude specified frequency ranges from the AutoAssign and manual assign process.

Added TV Channel F​inder algorithm for detecting and displaying 6, 7, or 8 MHz TV channels in the RTSA and Scan Views.

Added new Whip Antenna Length tool. Select a frequency range to display a real size graphic to assist in cutting whip antennas to the correct length.

Web App general improvements including:

Added keyboard entry for channel frequencies

Added new 1RX View ‘Select TX’ menu to manage multiple transmitters that are assigned to the same channel.

Added ‘dBm’ and duration scales to the RF History plot in the 1RX View.

Added duration shortcut in the duration scale of each 1RX View’s RF History plot.

Added –70dBFS to audio meter scales.

Added antenna A/B labeling to each antenna RSSI meter bar in 1RX Views.

Improved RF > Antenna Mode map graphics.

Added new 8RX row view in the Home tab.

Improved expand (+) and collapse (-) RX channel row functionality in the Home tab.

RTSA now shows transmitter names vertically to prevent names overlapping with neighboring transmitters.

New RTSA Meters mode for displaying Q + Audio Meters. Roll mouse over the meters to display the compact TX control panel with Power, RF, and Mute On/Off buttons.

More responsive audio and RF metering.

Normal + Peak Hold and Average + Peak Hold added to the RTSA Trace Type option list.

Dante and Control network port MAC addresses are now displayed in the Network Menu.

1RX View > Audio Outs > Aux On/Off toggle can now over​ride/disable the TX Aux On state.

Default static IP is now different from the Astral reciever and Outpost.

In RF Mirror mode, if the Secondary unit takes over control due to the Primary failing, it no longer switches back to the Primary when the Primary comes back online.

Added option for the RF Mirror Secondary unit to use the Primary’s Outposts or its own local Outposts.

Added a loss of Network connection notification to OLEDs.

Changes

Main Menu icon color changes for consistency across all Astral Receivers and web apps.

Astral TX or Astral HH transmitter control button option ‘GPIO’ has been changed to ‘Control’. The Control option can be used to trigger Macros or GPIOs.

Accessing the Web App RTSA now goes directly to the last viewed band’s RTSA

Fixes

RF History now runs in the background – it no longer resets when switching views.

Improved audio performance at the edge of RF range and better interference resistance

Fixed inaccurate RF History duration and accuracy.

T&M modulation high-frequency phase drift no longer occurs.

Device Network naming from Dante Controller now works correctly

BNC sync input would not always lock to external word clock, is now fixed.

Fixes issue where USB thumb drive formatting would not always work.

NexLink re-connection and stability improvements.

Firmware Update Guide (HTML) Firmware Update Guide (PDF)

Sound Devices Astral ARX32 v8.10.02 Firmware Released: June 05, 2025

NOTE: If updating an Astral ARX32 from v1.00, any attached Astral Opto needs to be physically unlinked and removed during the update. Versions v1.01 of Astral ARX32 and above do not require this step.

Fixes

Fixed a bug where AutoAssigning RX Channels with paired TXs that have no power caused NexLink to not reconnect after power was reapplied.

Fixed diversity issue on receiver channel 16 (Astral ARX16 only)

Sound Devices Astral ARX32 v8.10 Firmware Released: April 23, 2025

NOTE: If updating an Astral ARX32 from v1.00, any attached Astral Opto needs to be physically unlinked and removed during the update. Versions v1.01 of Astral ARX32 and above do not require this step.

New

Ability to trigger DiGiCo console macros from Astral transmitters and receivers.

Added the ability to select which RX Channels should be AutoAssigned.

Added Outputs 1-64 to the Astral Web App > Audio tab and Outputs 1-32 to the Astral Web App > Audio tab.

Changes

RF sensitivity improved in both LR and Std by 3 to 5 dB, depending on antenna mode and proximity to antennas.

Improved RF demodulation for significantly improved multipath performance and multi-antenna performance.

Added an ‘Are You Sure’ confirmation popup when Network > Restart Network’ or ‘Clear Dante Settings’ are selected [ARX32 only].

Added an ‘Are You Sure’ confirmation popup for Group TX format commands from the ARX32 OLED GUI.

The TX List Search icon has been changed to a more obvious blue icon.

The ARX16 RSSI meter range changed to –100 to –65 dBm. The ARX32 RSSI meter